Messenger of Destiny
by wsfrkrf64
Summary: Sequel to Journeys of the Brave, Chapter 2 is up with 3 to follow shortly, please review, took a while but it's worth it
1. Calling of Destiny

This sequel to Journies of the Brave takes place about 2 years after the original and has basically the same characters. I would suggest reading Journies of the Brave before reading this. You can look for it or ask me for it. Enjoy this leg of the story:  
  
The wind kicked up around the two combatants as they stared each other down. They both clutched their bottakes with white knuckles and attempted to anticipate his enemies first move. Neither one of them dared to flinch towards their foe, so they stood there, letting the wind blow debris across the dirt ground. The trees sorrowful song could be heard as the wind blew through their branches and attempted to bend them in half. The leaves were a constant torrent of color that blew against the sides of the combatant's faces. The cloudy sky started to let loose a few stray rain drops, threatening to rain upon the fighters if they did not continue the fight soon.

Finally, one of them got impatient and rushed the other. A single slice of his bottake was all their was to be seen as they sped to speeds that made light look slow. A swish of a sword or a dent in the ground was the only evidence that they were even there.

No normal human could've comprehended the swiftness of their moves enough to follow them, but luckily, Ryoko wasn't even a human. She watched as her two room mates went at each other, one obviously straining to keep up with the other. She had no problem following both of their movements and grandpa, it seemed, was the same way. He sat on his front step, protected from the light rain and watching the two swing away. She looked over towards him and he waved her over. The tree branch she was sitting on was exactly fitting her ass to nicely, and neither was getting rained on, so she teleported over to his doorway.

Grandpa offered her some sake and she happily accepted as she sat down to watch the fight. She looked over at him and asked him a question, " Is there a point to them fighting? You already know who's going to win."

Without looking back at her, Grandpa responded, " You can never be sure of ones ability level until he is up against all odds."

Ryoko lifted her saucer, " Fair enough for me," and drank the entire thing in one gulp.

One of the fighters hit the ground and immediately got back up and charged. Grandpa yelled, " Watch your left!" The charging fighter got a bottake to his left side and went flying along the ground. Ryoko smiled slightly as her prediction had come true. Grandpa walked over to the fallen man and whispered some advice into his ear and wondered why his grandson, Tenchi Masaki, was having such a hard time grasping his lessons. The victor of the fight, Knucks, easily absorbed his words and style into his own, making him an amazing sword fighter. It was amazing that over the two years they had trained together, Knucks had left Tenchi in the dust.

Knucks was down on one knee, breathing heavily because of the added weight of his tank top. Ryoko looked down at him and asked, "What's wrong? Tired?"

Knucks looked up at his girlfriend and laughed. Ryoko and himself had grown together even more over the last two years. Even though they were an item within the fist he arrived, they had gotten to know each other a lot more, and therefore, growing closer and closer. They still had limitations, mostly because of Tenchi and the rest of the house. The worst thing they could do was hold hands around the others, and kiss when they were alone. They weren't even allowed to sleep in the same room, but Ryoko still snuck into his room sometimes, while nothing ever happened.

Knucks refocused on her question and responded, " Just a little winded is all."

Ryoko smiled and offered her hand to him. She pulled him to his feet and held onto his hand as he asked, " What are you doing up here? Ayeka stop being fun?"

Ryoko laughed, " I had to quit bugging her because Sasami said so. Not to mention I did kinda wanted to see you."

" Really? Why on Earth would you want to see me?" Knucks pulled her a little closer to him and kissed her on the forehead, " Be right back." He walked over to the now standing Tenchi and asked, " How ya feeling?"

Tenchi caught his breath and looked up at him, " Well, I feel about the same as I look, like crap." They both chuckled a little as Grandpa left Tenchi's side and let him stand on his own. He wobbled a little, but regained his balance and extended his hand, " Good fight."

" Good fight." Knucks shook his friend's hand and tried to keep him balanced. The rain suddenly came down harder than before and forced them all to move indoors, " I guess we'd better be heading back before they send out a search party."

" Sounds like a good idea to me."

" And that's where I come in boys," Ryoko grabbed both men and transported them through the rain to their home. They landed on the wooden deck outside and wrung their clothes out a little before going inside.

Knucks' shirt weighed a lot more than it usually did, and was a pain to get off. Tenchi was as wet as he was, and Ryoko was almost completely dry, " How on Earth aren't u soaking wet?"

Ryoko smiled, " Because I'm smarter than your average alien." She made a face at the both of them and laughed. Knucks looked at Tenchi and they knew they were thinking the same thing. They both stuck their hands out from under the awning and got a hand full of water and threw it on Ryoko.

Ryoko's face went from happy to shocked in record time. She frantically wiped at her clothes in a useless attempt to get the water off. She was now freezing cold, and looked up to see Knucks and Tenchi running away from her. She instantly teleported and snagged both of them up, flew over the lake, and dropped them in.

Knucks and Tenchi both struggled to break the surface of the lake to get air. Knucks reached the top first and took a deep breath while wiping the water from his eyes. He thought he heard Ryoko's unmistakable laughter, but didn't see her above the lake. Tenchi's head emerged from the water and choked up a little bit of water while Knucks started to swim to shore. He and Tenchi came to the closest shore line and saw a laughing Ryoko staring down at them, laughing her head off, " Wow. How'd you guys get so wet?"

Knucks smiled and looked at Tenchi before he grabbed her ankle and threw her into the middle of the lake. He quickly got out of the water and pulled Tenchi out before telling Ryoko, " Probably the same way you just did honey!"

No sooner did he say this than did he see Ryoko's head pop out of the water, with her eyes glowing red. Knucks saw this and knew it was time to start running, and Tenchi knew better than to get between her and her prey, so they ran in separate directions.

Knucks found himself laughing as he ran from Ryoko. He knew that he would be in trouble if she caught him, but she wouldn't be catching him anytime soon. He stopped and turned around to see a giant column of water shoot into the air. He now thought that he might've gone a little overboard and running away was definitely a good idea. He removed his weighted shirt and tossed it on a nearby branch, easily tripling his speed. He prepared to take off again when he heard something from the nearby woods. He turned to the tree that he set his weights on, but they were now being drug on the ground into the woods be something unknown.

Knucks had no idea what was dragging his shirt, but he ran after it anyways. He dodged branches and roots while trying to keep track of his shirt. The low light in the woods made it near impossible to see the many things protruding from the soft soil. He saw sunlight up ahead, which couldn't be so since it was cloudy outside. The opening in front of him in the dark woods seemed to be getting smaller as he got closer. He ran faster and dove through the hole, just before it closed.

Knucks rolled a little bit right into a puddle of water. He stood up and took a few steps backwards. He silently cursed himself and thought, ' I'm never going to get dry at this'

Suddenly, the puddle he was just in evaporated at an incredible speed. All of the water had been dried up in a matter of seconds, even on his clothes. He looked up to find the source of the light, but he found no sun, just intertwining branches that shown light through its cracks, like a hand sewn blanket had been placed over the sun. The small meadow he had stumbled into seemed to be a peaceful place, with small flowers, lush green grass, and one giant tree in the center of it all. The tree itself looked as natural as the rest of the place, but Knucks felt a power in it he hadn't felt for a long time.

Yet another weird thing about this place was that there was no animal life to be found. Only plants seemed to inhabit the small paradise. There was a relaxing warmth to the air and a welcoming energy, seemingly pulling him towards the tree itself. It made for an overwhelming urge to just let go and fly at the tree, as if to embrace it.

Knucks heard a small fit of laughter, like that of a child's, coming from the tree itself, but he couldn't move immediately because of the relaxation effect of this enchanted forest. He couldn't force his limbs to move as quickly as he wanted them to. The tree creaked and moaned as a small girl stepped out of the tree, and it reminded him of how Ryoko phased through things.

Knucks stored the information away in his already hazy mind and tried to focus what little attention he had to the little girl stepping out of a tree in front of him. He reached back for his bottake to find it long gone, probably in the lake somewhere. He knew he could barely stand, let alone walk, but he still tried to take a wobbly step forward, only to fall flat on his face. He had vaguely realized that he had tripped on something and looked back at his feet to see what it was. He had found what he came here for, his weighted shirt, but now it didn't seem that he could leave as easily as he came in. His arms felt like ooze and his feet where under his weight, making it near impossible for him to lift them in his current state. He felt his eyes getting heavy in exhaustion he had never felt before. His senses went wild every moment he closed his eyes, hearing a thousand laughs and seeing ghastly faces, forcing him to do the opposite of what his body wanted.

Suddenly, all of the relaxing feelings and exhaustion went away and Knucks felt his energy returning. He slowly stood up and regained his composure as the little girl turned towards him. She had been looking at the tree, and she had also been a ghost but minutes earlier. She walked slowly towards him, her feet never quite touching the ground. He kept his guard up, despite her calm look and friendly smile, he would not be caught with his guard down. She stopped just a few feet from him and spoke, " What business do you have here?"

She spoke with a soft child voice, full of innocence and yet, a certain commanding under note to her voice forced Knucks to answer, " Just trying to get what's mine." The young girl's eyes widen slightly and Knucks felt the exhaustion take him into a deep slumber.  
  
----------------------------------  
  
Ryoko helped Tenchi off of the ground and wondered where in the hell Knucks was. She had flown after him after he had thrown her in the lake, but she was only able to find Tenchi. Knucks, according to Tenchi, ran in a different direction than him, making it harder to find him, " We'd better keep looking for him. He might be in trouble."

Tenchi brushed himself off a little bit as he heard Ryoko speak. It was funny how she wanted his help after tackling him to the ground looking for Knucks, " I say we go back home. Washu will know where he is and they'll be getting worried about us too. Knucks an handle himself, and if he were in trouble he would be fine. I don't want to leave him out here either."

Ryoko looked around the trees, to thick for even her feline eyes to see through. She knew Knucks was a big guy and nobody would give him any trouble, but she still had a bad feeling about just leaving out here to fend for himself, " How bout you go back and tell everyone what happened while I stay out here and look a little bit more okay? And tell Washu to open her link with me so I can actually talk to her."

Tenchi was about to protest when she lifted herself off of the ground and began to float above the trees, " Wait!"

Ryoko stopped, " Oh what now Tenchi!"

Tenchi scratched the back of his head and asked coyly, " Will you at least give me a lift home?"

Ryoko rolled her eyes and then an idea struck her, " Even better Tenchi! I'll give you the ability to fly there!"

Tenchi's eyes lit up, " Really? I can fly?"

Ryoko landed on the ground, smiled, and lifted Tenchi off the ground by the arm, " Sure! Anybody can fly, you just have to have the right motivation. Are you ready?"

Tenchi shook his head, and Ryoko brought her arm with him in it back and threw him forward, " Have a nice flight!"

Ryoko waved him off and chuckled slightly as she could hear his wail for help. She saw him land right in front of the house and pumped her fist at her accuracy. Her smile wore off slightly as she turned back towards the dark woods and felt a rain drop splash on her hand. She cursed mother nature before zooming towards the trees, looking for her boyfriend.


	2. Rumors of Destiny

The nameless little girl walked slow circles around her intruder. She had never encountered a human that could enter her woods so easily. Her roaming branches carried in far to much junk and always passed by the energy sources she required. However, this time it seemed as if her branches had finally drug in something useful. She filled her senses with whatever her controlled environment could tell her about this new man. The grass beneath and around him swayed and rocked towards him, trying to guess at his power level. The water flowed over un-trenched land, feeling for his life force. All of her information gathered she stood in relative awe at her lucky catch. Just from a feel of his life energy, she could tell that this was no normal human. This one had an intense energy that would petrify a normal person. All she saw in his tremendous power was that it would help her in her quest. However, she couldn't drain him of it, for doing so would result in her breaking two rules that came with her quest. Rule one: never take a life and rule two: never defy Tsunami's order.

She knew that it was Tsunami that made her, and Tsunami could destroy her just as easily. She knew that this mission could be filled by someone else, making her all the more obedient to the goddess. She would follow her orders and keep this one alive. Tsunami had made it clear that he was more valuable alive than dead , but she didn't understand the goddess's exact meaning. She crouched down and ran her fingers along his arm, feeling both his warmth and dominance with the simple touch. She wouldn't have to worry about him waking up until she wanted him to. The best part about her job was the ability to change her little world into anything she wanted. Of course, it was only an illusion of power in her world between all others, but it gave her a feeling of importance.

' It's time to awaken our guest. Tell him his mission and make sure he doesn't fail'

Tsunami's voice whispered her mission to her and she was quick to obey. A slight difference in the air quality and the young man's head snapped up and turned towards her, " Welcome to my domain. "  
The boy looked at her cautiously when she spoke, as if she couldn't end his life at anytime, with him resisting or not, " Some welcome. Is that how you greet everybody who stumbles into here?"  
She smiled slightly, " No. Usually I kill them. However, my boss has displayed some interest in you. You might know her name, Tsunami?"  
A little smile played across Knucks' face when he heard her name. Of all the people he had ever met once, he least expected to ever hear from Tsunami again. He noticed a thousand questions enter his mind after hearing her name, and he wasn't going to get the answers just sitting there, " Why does Tsunami want me?"  
She was glad that Tsunami's name had cleared the uncertain air and he was comfortable talking with her, "She wants to warn you of an approaching enemy. A dark force that has been gathering all dark energy to itself for the past two years, waiting for its time to strike and claim the power of the gods."  
Knucks knew what that meant, and it was bad news. It probably meant that his friends were going to be getting a visit from some not so friendly visitors sooner or later. He took a slight look around, but not really taking in to many details. He was just trying to think of the next sensible question to ask, " What is this place?"

She looked at him and smiled slightly as she attempted to explain this realm to him, " This world is a space between all other planes of existence. It is a safe haven from evil, and an ideal spot for growing Jurain ships. However, every few millennia, there comes a request from Tsunami herself to build a special, more powerful, ship. This ship has only the oldest and wisest trees to harbor its awesome power, and is built for a god to command. You are now standing on the bridge of the newest ship of that kind, but I'm not sure who it is intended for. Whomever Tsunami names this ship as its owner, their name, and mind, will become one with it, making them a being powerful enough to be called a god. Unfortunately though, to make one of these ships requires amazing amounts of energy, and it takes a while for the ship to develop this energy on its own."

Knucks let the new information slip through his ears, barely noticing she said anything, his mind to gathered around how he was to protect his friends from danger. He knew he had to warn everybody, and standing around and thinking about it wasn't helping, " What are these guys after exactly?"  
Her expression straightened as she answered, " Tsunami has not shared that information with me."  
Knucks just shook his head at that and looked around to notice that a few flowers were flying around like helicopters. He just followed them with his eyes, wondering if he should consider this weird or not. He shook his head and just looked away, deciding that he had seen weirder things in his life. He remembered the situation and decided that it was now time to leave this place, "Well, thank you for all your help, but I'm afraid I have to go now."  
After hearing this, the nameless girl burst out in laughter. She fell down to one knee, now laughing uncontrollably. She soon regained her composure when she heard Tsunami's voice in her head, telling her her next course of action, ' Did you hear me'  
She whipped the tears from her eyes and responded, ' No, forgive me mistress. Please repeat'  
' I want you to fight him, and if he beats you, you are to release him'  
All of the humor now evacuated from the her nameless face. She just stood there, staring at her soon to be challenger, noticing his confusion on his face, but also feeling nothing but hatred for him, ' But Tsunami, this human could not possibly beat me here! Why do you want me to fight in a battle that-'  
'-I assure you that Knucks is more than capable of beating you, even in your own domain. Now fight him cleanly and notify me when you are finished'  
Tsunami had raised her voice when she interrupted her thoughts, causing her a headache and her nose to bleed. She felt the blood start to drip from her nose and wiped it away calmly. She realized that she had been out of line, and it would never happen again. Tsunami's orders were never up for negotiation, and she should've known to bite her tongue instead of shout her opinion. She looked at Knucks and a slight smile played across her face, " I'm afraid that you're stuck here until you fight me."  
She could feel his power rise slightly, but he didn't attack, " No, I don't want to fight you. Just let me go so I can warn my friends."  
She started to summon her own powers while responding, " Well, you're not leaving until you fight me. I control the doors to this realm. Even if you got through my tree barriers, all you would do is drift in space for eternity. So I recommend we get this fight over with so you can go see your friends again."  
She could see him sigh and then drop into a battle ready stance. She smiled again and prepared to show Tsunami how potent her battle skills were.  
  
---  
  
It was official, Knucks had dropped off the face of the Earth. Ryoko now sat on top of a high mountain, mentally going over the places she hadn't checked. She ran her hands through her cyan hair and then slammed it down on the mountain she sat upon, sending a shock wave through it. She was angry at Knucks for running off, her inability to find him and her mother's persistent talking in her head. Telling her where her little computer thought Knucks was, and being totally off was starting to get on her nerves. She missed Knucks, she thought that was her main issue, and one she was no closer to rectifying than she was three hours ago. She shuddered from the hated cold and decided it was time to find a warmer place to think.

Ryoko jumped and started to glide down the mountain side towards the small valley that led her home. She felt bad for overreacting earlier, but the first thing she was going to do when she saw him was hug him and kiss him to death. She teleported and then dropped to the soft soil in front of her home. One last look behind her showed that Knucks wasn't coming up the path or across the lake, but a sudden dark feeling sent a tremor down her spine. A cold breath blew across her neck, and Ryoko reacted immediately, summoning her laser sword and spinning quickly, only to look into Knucks' face. A look of bewilderment feel across her face as she stared into her boyfriend's face, unable to believe that it was actually him until he spoke, " Hey! Easy big fella. I thought you would be happy to see me."

Ryoko retracted her sword and ran into his arms and her arms wrapped around him. She kissed his cheek, vaguely aware that he was extremely cold and that he had failed to hug her back yet. He finally raised his arms and embraced her and smiled slightly at Ryoko. She felt so happy, but still had many questions, " What happened? Where'd you run off to?"

Knucks' smile grew with her every word to him, and it made her happy to see him so happy about seeing her again. He finally responded, " I just got a little hung up. No big deal. I'm sorry I worried you, but let's forget it and go inside."

Ryoko looked into his eyes for the first time, but didn't see the comfort she usually did. She always saw nothing but warm love and caring in his eyes, but the eyes she looked into now were...off. That was the only word her mind could come up with to describe them. A mixture of cold and blank eyes that were a direct contrast to the wide smile he had on his face. She also noticed that the evil presence was still somewhere nearby, and Knucks must've either not have felt it, or simply not care, " There's someone bad nearby. Somebody might have followed you back. We should warn the others and take them out-"

" No there's nobody around. You worry to much Ryoko. C'mon, lets go relax inside." Knucks had shocked her with his interruption, and angered her. She knew her instincts enough to know that when they thought something was wrong, then something was wrong, and Knucks knew that. He had always trusted her when it came to problems, but now he just wanted to relax. It made no sense to her at all.  
" Well then I guess I'll go relax without you if you're going to just stand there." Knucks just walked past her and into disappeared into the doorway. Ryoko stood there, astonished that he would be that determined to go inside and do nothing at all. She shot a look back at the doorway, and realized that something was very wrong with Knucks. He just simply wasn't the same as when he left, and she was still curious to the darkening feeling she felt. She looked up into the gray, cloudy sky and wished that they would tell her the answer, but they told her nothing. She lowered her head and decided to not worry about it to much for right now, but her deep subconscious kept telling her that her boyfriend was to be watched very, very closely.  
------  
  
Knucks fell to both of his knees before going down to the ground. The little girl had been more of a fighter than he could've ever expected. She hadn't even used her control of her realm and she still had almost gotten the best of him. He decided that this was definitely the best course of action; playing possum until she turned away. He had to time it just right if he was going to pull it off. He summoned all of his remaining power into his right fist, and heard her talk to somebody as he sprung his trap. He saw the shocked expression on her face right before it became one of contorted pain. She flew like a cannon ball into the far wall of the dimension and hit with a very hard thud.

Knucks landed on his feet, amazed by how strong he still felt. He had put al is power behind that punch, and he still felt like he could run a marathon. He also admired the toughness of the walls, and of his opponent. He knew that being hit that hard would've torn a normal human, in a normal place, a new mouth hole. Yet, while she wasn't moving, he still only saw one mouth on her, and not even a crack on the wood that her body had rammed. He saw her move slightly before saying, " I give up. You hit to hard!"  
Knucks smiled at that, " Must be all those push ups I do-"  
A bright light cut him off in mid sentence and a familiar figure stepped out of the light. Tsunami was kneeling next to her servant, checking on her health, and Knucks found himself relaxing with her presence. He didn't know what brought this feeling on, but he also didn't know anything else that was happening was happening so it fit in perfectly. He saw her, floating with her feet a few inches off the ground, and checking on her subordinate's health.  
" I told you he was formidable, " she turned to Knucks and addressed him, " So we meet again Knucks."  
" Yeah, it's a small universe after all."  
Tsunami smiled and floated forward a few feet, " Yes it is indeed, and the funny thing is that we always come together when darkness is closing in on what we both cherish most. I fear that this coming evil is far more cunning and dangerous than our last."  
Knucks had caught his breath from the fight and now walked a little closer to Tsunami, " I just need to know who they are and what they're after and I'll fight them."  
Tsunami had always admired his ability to throw caution to the wind for his friends. She had seen many humans run for their own protection when danger arose, completely ignoring their friend's cries for help as they ran for cover. To many to count now that she thought of it. If she were ever to become a human, she would definitely model herself after Knucks, " Our enemy is a mixture of two potent powers. Nagi is the only one that you would recognize."  
" The bounty hunter?"  
" Yes, I thought you would've heard of her."  
Knucks thought back to what he had heard about the notorious Nagi, "She's pretty well known around my old planet because of all of the banks she robbed around there. Wanted by every law enforcement agency everywhere. I haven't heard anything new about her though in quite a while."

Tsunami closed her eyes and spoke, " Because she has been recruited by my sister, Tokimi. She is the other part of our problem, and she is by far our biggest concern. She has as much power as I do, and an evil desire to gain control of the universe. She has tried to overthrow me before, but hasn't succeeded. I feel that she has the opportunity to gain the power she needs to go through with her plans this time."  
" How? Is she going after Ryoko?"  
" I believe so."  
Knucks started pacing, digging his trench while thinking of a solution. It seemed that he was way out of his league this time, " So, I can't stand up to Tokimi?"  
" I don't thin you would have a prayer against her, " she saw his shoulders slump and tried to male him feel better, " You can beat any human anywhere-"  
"-but I can't beat a god. Got it."  
Knucks looked towards the farthest point from which he stood and tried to find a way to help. He realized that he was starting to hate this place and that anything he could do was definitely hindered with him being trapped here, " Why don't you get me out of here and we'll come up with a plan."

Tsunami felt that she had hurt him somehow, but knew that she had told him the truth and that it would be for his best, " You might want to see something before you go rushing back home." Knucks turned his head back towards her only to see a large blue circle appear in front of him. It swirled blue smoke for a moment, then it showed what looked exactly like a reflection of himself. The reflection didn't move like he did, and it's eyes were different and it had a sadistic smile on its face, " Who is this?"

Tsunami answered, " A clone sent by Nagi to collect information on your home. More likely to watch Ryoko than anything else though. He has invaded your home, kissed your wife-"

"-and seriously pissed me off! Send me back there so I can take him out." Tsunami smiled and waved the blue circle away, and at the same time, the tree gates opened, revealing lots and lots of darkness. Knucks looked out one of the openings, and thought he felt some kind of energy. It wasn't familiar to him so he took an educated guess that he wasn't getting home that way.

" Perhaps you would like some assistance?" The little girl had offered the assistance.

Knucks smiled back at her, " Well now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind a point in the right direction."

She smiled and pointed to the door opposite of her. He walked over there and thought he felt Ryoko's energy.  
" Before you go, I would like to check back in with my disciple after you think you have a lead on them. It would help me prepare for Tokimi better."

Knucks had one foot on the frame of the portal and looked over his shoulder, " No problem buddy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an imposter to kill."

Tsunami smiled as he jumped through the dark portal, leaving the goddess with her servant, " If you see him in trouble, make sure you save him."

The little girl was slightly baffled, " But why? You said yourself that he was no help in defeating Tokimi."

Tsunami smiled wider and responded, " You only get the most out of yourself when you have something to prove. Remember that."


	3. Imposter of Destiny

A sinister smile played across an imposters face. An imposter whom was drinking his sake, eating his food and possibly worst of all, IT had its arm HIS wife. Knucks looked in on this scene through one of the glass doors, making sure not to be seen. He felt slightly sick, but mostly angry, at seeing him live his life. Sasami had just handed it another tray of rice and giggled slightly as it apparently made a joke. He simply sat on his tree branch, feeling as much hatred for something that any one person could. As much as he would enjoy beating the living crap out of this faker, he had to keep a cool head if he was going to find this thing's controllers. He already had a hunch on who this drone worked for, and if it was who he thought it was, they were already in danger.

The moonlight made it almost impossible for him to be seen hiding it the shadowy trees. A perfect spot for him to monitor and not attract attention. Knucks thought of the best course of action from here, and for a few minutes was clueless. If he stormed the place, one of his friends could get caught between them, and he wouldn't, couldn't, live with that. If he waited to long, then he ran the risk of the enemy arriving, making new problems and not solving any of the previous ones. He weighed some of his options: waiting until it went for a walk or something, getting one of his friend's attention-

Knucks chuckled as, right on cue, Washu walked outside for a breath of fresh air. Tsunami was definitely giving him a sign here, and reacted accordingly. He burst over and grabbed Washu and threw here back up in his hiding place. She struggled to get loose of his grip, but stopped once she saw his face. He removed his hand from her mouth and spoke, " Miss me"

Washu stared back at him, obviously surprised, " Ok. What's going on"

" Long story that I would be happy to tell you in your laboratory"

Washu looked around and answered quietly, " I won't be able to get you in through the front door," she thought for a second then continued, " However, that's what science is for"

Knucks smiled as he looked back at the door to see if they'd been heard. Washu's laptop appeared and her fingers did their magic dance. He suddenly heard a crack of wood, and was sucked into a black hole before falling from his perch. After a quick second of darkness, he was standing in Washu's amazing laboratory.

He didn't recognize this part of her lab, but he had never had the spare month's worth of time it would take to map out the entire area. He was jus thankful to be back in his own house again. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting his shoulders sag in relaxation. He had been on edge ever since leaving the forest sanctuary, which hadn't been able to find again after being launched form the doorway. Running at full speed, wondering if he was to late, and feeling the hate and anger of the imposter's assimilation of his life. He couldn't have been gone that long, but he had fit seamlessly into his life. A depressing thought in his mind, " Shall I start from the beginning?" Washu had two chairs appear out of nowhere for the both of them to sit. Knucks could tell that she was in this for the long haul. She put her laptop away and set her head in her hands, " Please do."

-

It felt a strong presence inside the house. It almost choked on its rice when the powerful feeling suddenly appeared. It couldn't pinpoint the power's location, but it seemed that Knucks had finally returned. A small inconvenience, but still not what he wanted to do at the moment. It was supremely enjoying the meal the little Sasami girl had prepared, and was looking very forward to some alone time with Ryoko. It was his original mission to destroy Knucks and ultimately take his place. Its master had been very pleased when Knucks seemingly disappeared earlier today. It would have to report the bad news to master Nagi at its next check in time, but it would hopefully also have the pleasure of reporting Knucks' demise in the same report. That would supremely make its day.

" Hey Knucks."

It swiveled its head towards Tenchi and answered, " Yeah?"

" You feeling okay? You skipped your chores today and you just ate like three helpings of food."

It became slightly irritated by this young boy's snooping. It stared as blankly as it could at Tenchi, trying to contain his anger. Its stone cold gaze locked with Tenchi's, and much to his surprise, he saw no fear in the boy's eyes. This intimidated it somewhat because all of its enemies had always showed fear when they saw its strong eyes glare at them. This just angered it more, " Well, now that you mention it, you've been kind of annoying to me lately," every eye in the room now looked at him as he spoke, " whining and crying about everything that I do or don't do. I'm sick of you thinking that you have any power over me. You can't beat me in anything Tenchi"

Tenchi looked hurt in his eyes, and it was a sweet victory for it. It stood from its place at the table and walked towards the stairs, realizing that it might've overreacted slightly. He heard Ryoko from behind him, " What is your problem Knucks? Tenchi didn't do anything to"

It didn't hear that last part as he had shut the door to his room. It couldn't smile over its accomplishment as it knew that it had just compromised its image as Knucks. It heard the ping it its head and knew that its master was calling him. It reached into its pocket and took out what looked like a regular cell phone. It threw the object onto the bed and his Masters Nagi and Tokimi appeared in front of him, " My masters."

It bowed to the hologram and waited to be acknowledged, " You idiot! You have got to keep your cool around his friends if you want to be him."

It heard Master Nagi's words as itrose from its bow andlistened forto Tokimi give him orders, " You must be patient and resilient to his idiot friends. Just remember one thing, if you fail, you will cease to exist. Either by our hands or by your enemy's. Make no mistake that Knucks is in your house as we speak. My sisters have undoubtedly begun helping him destroy our plans."

" But masters, how could he possibly disrupt our plans when he cannot defeat either of you?"

Tokimi allowed her power to reach out to it and it felt its body collapsing from her might, " Just because he is incapable of defeating us doesn't mean that he cannot wreck our domination plans. Especially when my sisters are giving him inside information on how to do so. Use your head!"

It felt bones breaking under Master Tokimi's might and quickly responded, " Yes! Forgive me."  
" Just stay on guard and-"

The transmission was cut off in mid-sentence and left it staring at the bed's white sheets. It stood in a very empty and cold room, pondering what could've happened to its transmission. It snatched up the device and pressed in every command it could, but the image never reappeared. It threw the worthless item against the wall, shattering it. The realization hit home as the small pieces hit the ground that he was truly alone, and it frightened the fearless thing. The bedroom of his enemy felt as large as an airplane hanger and as empty as his soul.

It felt something that frightened him more downstairs. The immense force of power it had felt before was moving into the living room. It had no doubts that Knucks had made his presence known to all that dwelled downstairs, making more people for him to kill. It tried to become angry with Knucks for isolating him from his masters, but it was its first experience being truly alone. It had always considered itself more than a match for Knucks, but now, all that dwelled in his mind was uncertainty. It felt the power on the floor below him disappear suddenly, and moments later, it was flying out the glass window towards the ground. Shards of glass fell down next to it and Knucks, looking like daggers made of diamonds in the moonlight. Everything hit the ground and that knock awoke it from its emotional daze.

Knucks stood up first and saw the thing on the ground, and the pieces of glass that stuck from almost its entire chest. It would've made his stomach turn a bit, but there wasn't any blood seeping from the wounds. This sight proved that the thing at his feet wasn't among the human race. It stood up slowly and stared a cold hole in his head with its eyes, " What are you?"

Its enemies question was left unanswered as it filled its artificial lungs with air and blew out the glass from its chest towards Knucks. Its enemy dodged the flurry of glass and landed on his feet. It might've looked calm on the outside, but it was still very frightened on the inside. It decided quickly to try and kill his enemy quickly, and sprang forward.

Knucks was ready for the first attack it gave him as he simply dodged under its hand and tripped the thing. He reached back for his sword and jumped up to kill the thing once and for all, but suddenly, the arms of his adversary stretched to incredible lengths and grabbed both of his arms. He was about to force his way out of the predicament, but quickly swung him down towards the ground. He felt his chest hit the ground and the air quickly escape his lungs. A surge of power left his body and forced its hands off of his arms and Knucks took full advantage. A quick flash and he had his sword in hand and was flying near the ground towards his enemy's head. It had no chance of moving before it had a new hole in its head.

Tenchi looked down on this scene from the window the two fighters had broken. He wanted to jump down there and help Knucks, but two things kept him from doing so. First off, Knucks didn't want any help. He had told everybody before rushing that thing to stay out of the way. Secondly, Knucks didn't need any help. As Tenchi thought this, his friend already decided the fight in a hiccup-quick move. He chuckled as he saw the dead thing twitch and die and then noticed the rest of his friends running form the front door to the battle field. He decided that Knucks and him could have a good laugh over this later, and maybe he could be enlightened by Knucks telling him what on Earth was going on.

-

Nagi and Tokimi watched a dreadful scene as their best henchmen was obliterated easily by their mortal enemy Knucks. Nagi sat on the throne room steps as Tokimi sat in the throne itself, both watching this crap. That's what they both thought of it, but they were more surprised than any other emotion in the universe, " What was wrong with that picture?"

Tokimi heard her adopted sister's voice and felt agitated by the question, " Knucks is still alive. What do you think?"

Nagi smiled and instantly felt better about her day, " You worry to much. So what, we underestimated him this once. I assure you he won't dominate me so much when we fight. If we fight."

Tokimi thought about it and realized that her sister was right, and it's not like he defeated their creature while it was at its best, " Perhaps, but I wouldn't get your hopes up about fighting him. I think I'll be sending in HY6."

Nagi looked over at her sister in surprise and said, " Why would you ruin our fun so early? It will destroy him."

Tokimi smirked, " You should know by now that I never attack directly without first planning everything out. HY6 won't be fighting Knucks," a glass tube containing an unspeakable creature appeared in front of the two women, "rather it is just going to set our plans into motion."

Both women laughed crackling laughs that made the black space around them even darker.


End file.
